A few months ago my (twin) sister and I decided we wanted to have a girl’s weekend to celebrate our 30th Birthday and combine it with Mother’s Day since they shared a weekend. It took us forever to finally decide on a place to get together. It was originally going to be NYC but we dragged our feet and it started getting pricey especially around a busy spring of other travel plans and events (including cross-country baby shower). The real problem was that we didn’t care WHERE we went but just that we were together. We are all spread out in upstate NY, Southern FL and well me in DC. We finally decided on a relaxing trip to the beach and after mulling over some hotel options in Rehoboth, opted for an ocean front high rise in Ocean City.
We had no goals except to relax and have fun. We left Saturday morning at noon to avoid Friday evening traffic (and save on hotel room $) and got in around 3pm. Because our room wasn’t ready they offered us complimentary cocktails. I ordered the Bahama Mama and it was worth every single little calorie. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around and relaxing before getting dressed and ready for a dinner out. A coworker recommended Sunset Grille and we managed to snag a last minute 8:30 reservation. The food was delicious and it was an adorable restaurant on the water.
Sunday we got up and had breakfast at the hotel before getting geared up for our Mother’s Day kayaking adventure. On our way to dinner the night before, we picked up water shoes and ridiculously tacky matching OC t-shirts to wear.
After a bit of a navigational glitch, we finally made it to the destination only to find out that we were the only people in our kayak tour (wish they had mentioned that while we were frantically driving around the National Park). We got loaded up and set off on our eco tour of Assateague Island. The tour guide was great, explaining the history of the area, local birds and cool bay critters. About 1.5hrs into the tour we parked on the beach area to do a little seine netting. We managed to catch a bunch of fish and other critters and spent the next 30 mins or so getting a little lesson on local wildlife. Right as we were pushing off the beach, Kristen jumped out of her kayak (not an easy task I might add) and grabs a horseshoe crab. Our guide gave us a nice little briefing on the horseshoe crab before letting it return to bury in the sand.
On our way out of the park we saw a couple of the “wild” horses that the island is most known for. The Chincoteague ponies as they are called, have a really interesting story/life and I highly recommend you checking out the Wikipedia page.
Once we got home from kayaking/horse watching/visitor center shopping we went for a long walk on the beach to fetch some salt water taffy from the Candy Kitchen before walking home. After much debate we finally settled on a casual local pizza place that was quite desolate and had a nice little dinner.
Sunday we woke up, got packed up and started our journey home. We had a great time but really could have used an extra day to fit everything in (missed out on tax free outlet shopping in DE). My mom stayed the night and we grilled fish tacos on the patio and split a bottle of wine while my sister made the long drive back to NY.
I had a really rough time on Mother’s Day, more so than I think I anticipated. Wanting to be a mother and not being one while everyone is off celebrating their kiddos was hard. But, I’m so glad I got to spend the day with my amazing mother and my sister who is also a fantastic mother. I’m so excited for what my 30’s have in store and even managed to get carded on Sunday which made me feel 30 years young.
Blogger Julie Anderson lives in Washington, DC with her wonderful husband and 3 cats. She works as a Senior Analyst for a biotech company specializing in rare genetic diseases.Julie is an avid scuba diver with a special affinity for deep, dark caves and shipwrecks. I also enjoy traveling, running, rock climbing, crossfit, and sleep! You can see more of her writing here.
